Proper context can start the day with a solid win and make all the difference.

DAILY SCHEDULE First, watch the pre-open Tour recording HERE <<== Then, meet in the chaRTroom here by 9:15 ET for updates and Q&A

Through the prior close... (summary of last Market Wrap) The weekend's Middle East news triggered Sunday night's gap down from Friday's 3010.00 close to 2997.00. Overnight lows down to 2987.00 and 2983.50 weren't very pessimistic, considering that Crude Oil's gap up was setting a record. Post-open weakness Monday was even shallower, bouncing to 3005.25, and dipping only to 2993.25. Still, the session developed entirely in negative territory, and momentum disappeared when the bias environment lapsed, closing the session at 3000.00-3001.50. Overnight action's new info... (nearby chart is last intraday session and Globex) A largely headline-free night has produced a little choppiness, and no trending. Globex quickly bounced to 3007.00 Monday evening, probing intraday highs. Not by much. That was soon retraced back to unchanged, and extended into negative territory to greet Europe's opens at 2995.50. Another bounce attacked 3004.00, most of which has been retraced back down to 2997.00 -- back into negative territory, but not by much. If, then... (notes to accompany the Tour recording) Similar to yesterday's post-open action, now overnight has also failed to attract recovery sponsorship. Rallying out of yesterday's pattern is difficult without that sponsorship forming a gap up above it, or without probing under it in search of that sponsorship -- around 2988.00, perhaps, the pullback objective which, so far, was tested only Sunday night? Testing 2988.00 could be probed down to 2981.00 or 2975.00 just as noise. Not holding a test of 2988.00 through Tuesday's close would next target 2951.00 and possibly 2916.00. Holding a test of 2988.00 or simply rallying would target new highs at 3035.00 or higher. First Trade... (preliminary indications for the Bias parameters) Exiting the open at 9:45 under 3003.25 would be unlikely to trigger the 3006.25 bias-up signal at 10:15. Exiting the open at 9:45 above 2997.00 would be unlikely to trigger the 2993.75 bias-down signal at 10:15.

Dry Cleaners morning. Last night's initial high at 3007.00 was a test of this morning's 3006.25 bias-up signal. Its resistance held. The eventual reaction down to 2993.75 touched this morning's bias-down signal. Things have only narrowed from there. The 2998.25 open was essentially overlapped through 4 of the first hour's five 15-minute checkpoints. At least to within a couple of ticks each. And that tends to precede a frustrating morning. Not an easy trending environment, better off running errands... a Dry Cleaner's morning. Post-open action has also touched both inflection points that could have served as buy or sell signals. So, that's even more energy being expended without gaining any traction either way. Meanwhile, the stronger-handed vulnerability is down, so weak-handed control could bounce. That's not predictive of a bounce, only another reflection of the timing window's unpredictability. Often -- not always, not usually, but often -- the afternoon of a Dry Cleaner's morning resolves the range. The vulnerability to trending down still wouldn't prevent a bigger detour up, so there is nothing to position for prematurely.

TUE afternoon signal (triggered at 1:20 ET) SPX ES Bias-up: above 3003.75 3006.75 ...would target 3011.75 3014.75 Bias-down: under 2995.25 2998.00 ...would target 2988.50 2991.25 Signal status: NO-BIAS . BIAS VIDEOS... INTRO // EXAMPLE 1. At 1:20, trading above the bias-up signal or under the bias-down signal would put into play a test of its bias-up or bias-down target. 2. Not triggering either bias signal at 1:20 would be "no-bias," and the bias signals should define the bias environment's range. -- A test of the opposite bias signal would be targeted if one bias signal was tested before triggering no-bias. 3. Touching the bias signal within 3 minutes either way of 1:20 would invoke a grace period through 1:30 to trigger a late signal. -- "Late" signals don't require testing the opposite bias signal, but it's still likely. 4. Still testing the bias signal at 1:30 after invoking the grace period would trigger "noN-bias," with no bias influence.

Again. The benefit to signaling Dry Cleaner's morning is less about profit, and only a little more about preservation of profit. Mostly, it's about avoiding the frustration of waiting for an attractive setup that rarely comes, or doesn't perform anyway. This morning's signal sidestepped a very choppy overlapping of very small legs from 2997.00 that ultimately touched 3004.50 at the bias environment exit. A narrower range since then dipped back down to 2998.00 during the noon hour. All of which overlapped unchanged at 3000.00-3001.50, which is being tested now. Now this morning's no-bias has been followed by another, both without touching either bias signal. Potential for resolving the range this afternoon will have to wait for the bias environment to start lapsing at 2:30, if it resolves today at all. It's premature for anxiousness ahead of tomorrow afternoon's FOMC events to be blamed for the inhibition. But it's not helping. And not resolving either way before the close could prevent resolving by tomorrow's close, too, regardless of the range. Good to know, but we don't know it yet. Meanwhile, monitoring...

The market didn't lack opinion Tuesday, but none that was capable or committed to produce trending. Overnight action had ranged from the morning's 3006.25 bias-up signal to its 2993.75 bias-down signal. The open bounced between inflection points at 2996.75 and 3003.00. And the balance of the session continued ranging choppily sideways up to 3005.25 down to 3000.00. Anxiousness ahead of Wednesday afternoon's FOMC events wasn't that big a factor then, but it is more of a factor now. The vulnerability to intraday testing 2988.00 remains, along with attractions under it to 2980.50 and 2975.00. None of which is required. And none of which prevents rallying first if, especially the longer that a break lower is delayed -- whether from strong-handed bearish patience, or from having absorbed sellers through the passage of time. In fact, Tuesday's position-squaring window rallied 8-1/2 points to 3008.50. This late short-squeeze suggests the intraday pessimists are now neutral or long, and potential sellers that can help to pressure price back down. The squeeze also recovered back into Friday's range, requiring even more so to greet Wednesday higher if the morning intends to rally. Otherwise, the short-squeeze's late test of resistance and neutralized sellers is vulnerable to greeting Wednesday's open back within Mon-Tue's range. Details and other markets coverage are discussed in the post-market Wrap recording here. Monitor overnight Globex trading in the chaRTroom here.

WED morning signal (triggered at 10:15 ET) SPX ES Bias-up: above 3007.75 3010.50 ...would target 3017.50 3017.25 Bias-down: under 2996.50 2999.50 ...would target 2990.75 2993.75 Signal status: NO-BIAS, TESTED BIAS-DOWN SIGNAL . BIAS VIDEOS... INTRO // EXAMPLE 1. At 10:15, trading above the bias-up signal or under the bias-down signal would put into play a test of its bias-up or bias-down target. 2. Not triggering either bias signal at 10:15 would be "no-bias," and the bias signals should define the bias environment's range. -- A test of the opposite bias signal would be targeted if one bias signal was tested before triggering no-bias. 3. Touching the bias signal within 3 minutes either way of 10:15 would invoke a grace period through 10:30 to trigger a late signal. -- "Late" signals don't require testing the opposite bias signal, but it's still likely. 4. Still testing the bias signal at 10:30 after invoking the grace period would trigger "noN-bias," with no bias influence.